In known tape strapping apparatus, a tape guide duct for guiding tape around an object as a rule is a single machine part so dimensioned that at the user's location, the largest expected object to be strapped will be accommodated by the opening left free by the tape guide duct.
The design entails drawbacks both for the manufacturer of the apparatus and its user. When the manufacturer takes into account the user's wishes, he must make tape guide ducts of diverse sizes and stock these. The user on the other hand will incur some loss of time when strapping if the object being strapped is significantly smaller than the tape guide duct present would allow. Enough length of tape must be advanced in each strapping operation to at least once surround the object, whereupon, when the tape is tightened around the object, it will be retracted again substantially. If the user wishes to avoid this loss of time, he must replace the present and excessively large tape guide duct by a smaller one and possibly he must even order it first from the manufacturer. A significant cost is incurred in shut-down time when changing over from one tape guide duct to another of different dimensions.